Car Seat Review: Safety 1st Elite 80 3-in-1

We got Saoirse a new car seat for the van to see if she just hates car seats in general or if it's just her bucket seat (which she still fits in quite well). Well, turns out she hates car seats, but she hates her bucket (a Chicco Keyfit 30) more. Which is understandable as it is far less padded than the new S1 we got her, after I did much research. Overall, I am happy with the new purchase. 

I'm going to break this down into pros and cons.

Pros: very well padded, looks comfy, the only valid 3-in-1 convertible seat, pretty easy to install if you follow the manual, the cup holder seems like it would actually be validly usable for a child if they have, ya know, arms long enough to need a cup holder. Goes rear facing to 40 lbs. Harness forward facing to 70 lbs. High back booster til 100 lbs. No rethread harness and head rest moves with one hand (which adjusts the harness as well.) Very nice air head pads. 2 cup holders. Steel reinforced. 

Cons: it is big. Rear facing it takes up a lot of room back to front, so it wouldn't really be valid in smaller vehicles (we have a Dodge Grand Caravan). Wouldn't play well with other car seats as it is broad, but we have Captain's seats so that wasn't a concern for me. Joseph doesn't much care for the harness straps, but they don't bother me so that is a matter of opinion. 

It's pretty heavy, about 25 lbs, which is both a pro and a con. Under new regulations, LATCH shouldn't be used past when the child's weight + the car seat weight= 65 lbs. This seat rear faces to 40 lbs, so I shouldn't have to switch to using a seat belt til Saoirse is forward facing (which I don't plan to do until Saoirse is 40 lbs and is therefore too heavy to rear face in this seat).

As you can see in the above picture, I had to add a rolled up towel to get the appropriate recline on the seat, as the Grand Caravan has bizarrely slanted seats. This is allowed, per the manual. 

Smiling in her seat with Wubbanub Kitty and Mr Hedgehog. The air head pads can be seen by her head. 

Plenty of room to grow, nice sleek black coloring 

Disclaimer: I was not paid or reimbursed for this post. I bought the car seat myself, all $229+tax. The opinions expressed are mine alone. 

Pure Barre Review

Pure Barre is one of those workout things that I had never heard of until a friend of mine posted about on Facebook. Advertised as "high intensity, low impact", I was intrigued. I have exercise induced asthma and it seems like everything that falls under exercise triggers it. Swimming in an indoor pool isn't as bad, but even that will hit it eventually. And feeling short of breath is not a feeling I relish. 

I decided to give it a try nonetheless, after she said it probably wouldn't mess with my asthma. And after all, why turn down a free "try-me" class? I arranged for my mom to watch Saoirse while I took the opportunity to "lift, tone, and burn."

I was instructed to get a ball roughly the size of a cantaloupe, a set of 2 lb weights, and a stretchy tube thing, and then I found a spot in the center-ish area of the floor, as was suggested by the instructor. 

First off let me say, I have no idea how these instructors keep sounding so perky through the whole thing. 

We started off with knee lifts to warm up, some opposite knee to opposite elbow kind of stuff where it took me a good 5 tries to get my legs and arms working on a diagonal. For someone who has a dance background, I am amazingly awful at figuring out where my body is in space. Following that, we picked up our weights to work the shoulders and arms. I was at least mildly concerned for my rotator cuff, despite the fact they watch your form so you don't hurt yourself. However, courtesy of this, I now use my baby as a weight to the tune of "and lift, for two, and down, for two." Then there were planks, and push ups, and things that I don't know the name for. And I became intensely aware of how little upper body strength I have. Irish dance does not focus on upper body strength at all. As a result, my legs are strong, my core is decent, and my arms suck. 

Finally, after what felt like it had to be at least halfway through class, the instructor says, "And that finishes our warm-up."

I nearly fell out in the floor right then and there. I'm not sure why this shocked me so much, considered we hadn't even approached the bar part of Pure Barre yet. My shoulders hurt. 2 lb weights get really heavy after about 5 minutes. 

I'll leave some of this to the imagination as the "seat and thighs" section at the barre varies from week to week. Suffice to say, my butt hurt by the end of it. And my legs shook through most of it. 

We finished up with ab work. And it definitely works the abs. I don't know that I have ever been so grateful to see my mom walking with Saoirse (them being back at Pure Barre meant class was nearly over). Holding my baby after class hurt. My shoulders were what I felt the class in first. Not surprising since my arms are my weakest area. 

The next morning was when I felt every muscle. Coughing hurt. Getting out of bed hurt. I then went and bought a 5 classes for $51 Groupon and vowed to go once a week. It was such a workout. I've now been for 3 classes. Everyone I've talked to about it says how hard it is, especially that first class. And then they go back. And honestly, it keeps kicking your butt, at least best as I can tell. But I had to share this with everyone. 

You can try out one class for free. There's a Groupon for new clients (5 classes for $51 or 10 for $90 ish- must be used within 30 or 45 days respectively). There's a New Mom special where you get 3 months unlimited for $390 or so. Which is less than the $480 or so for 3 months unlimited normally. It's expensive but it will whoop your butt into shape quickly if you go the 3-4 times a week that's recommended. I can only pull off 1 time a week right now due to having to have someone watch Saoirse, but 1x a week is better than nothing. 

I definitely recommend this workout. 

This review was not requested nor endorsed by Pure Barre or Pure Barre Little Rock. I got no payment or free goodies for this review. This is all my opinion and my money being spent. 

SoundSleeper

There's this app for iPhone called SoundSleeper (may have a space, I'm not sure). I am in love with this app. It is a true lifesaver, available for free, or $3.99, or $2.99. Let me explain the variety. 

SoundSleeper is a white noise app. Vacuum, car sounds, rain, thunderstorm, shhh, and a couple more available sounds. Now, for free, the sound will run for up to 30 minutes unattended. After several weeks of pulling this app out, I decided to upgrade. $3.99. Not too bad for the peace and amazing calm-down abilities it has. Better yet, share it on Facebook and you get 25% off, making it $2.99. Yes, please. 

Upgrading gives you the ability to have continuous play, as well as a "listen" feature. I haven't used it yet to see how well it works, but it's supposed to play for a bit, fade out, and if it hears your baby making noise, it starts back up.

This app has gotten Saoirse to calm down when nothing else seems to. When walking, nursing, rocking, and Gripe Water all fail, this will work. Most of the time. Sometimes we're just SOL, but that's by no fault of this app. Which I love. I just wish I could get it to play through my car's speakers. We use "rain" and that works for Saoirse. 

Disclaimer: I was not paid to do this review or anything. I just love this app. 

And some pictures cause I know what you're all here for. 

Holding my head up so well. 

Chatterbox

Today's outfit. Matching feet and hat.